We’re always excited to get first-time winners in the HARDSCAPE HERO program. The more we can build a community of elite craftsmen, the more everyone benefits as we expand the knowledge base and mutual support. That being said, the HARDSCAPE HERO program was developed to form lasting partnerships with the contractors who turn Belgard pavers into breathtaking outdoor spaces. That’s why we get particularly excited about returning winners becoming fixtures within the HARDSCAPE HERO community. That’s why we’re thrilled that October brought us Micah Miller of Easton Outdoor’s third monthly win.
Normally, we would give you some background info on the contractor: how they got their start, what their journey has looked like, but anyone who follows HARDSCAPE HERO should be quite familiar with Micah’s story. Having built up Easton Outdoors, won three HARDSCAPE HERO Monthly Awards and received two Paves the Good Awards, Micah had established himself as a leading voice in Mid-Atlantic hardscaping. And having accomplished so much, he decided it was time to give back to other small business owners. “I actually just got back from Colorado,” says Micah, getting settled in for the interview, “I was leading a class for an organization called The Contractor Fight. I did something I call the eulogy exercise where I ask the other contractors to write the eulogy for their own funeral. It helps them really focus on what matters in life, and I find it really clarifies the “why” of running a business.” The Contractor Fight is an organization that provides coaching for small business owners, and having seen the success in Easton Outdoors, Micah saw it as an opportunity to share his experience as a way of giving back to the community. “I almost went bankrupt back in 2018,” Micah recalls, “and I attended some of their free coaching sessions. It helped me so much, and now that I’ve built things up, I wanted to turn around and help others the way I was helped.”
For his third HARDSCAPE HERO win, Micah went through a few different design concepts. While the husband wanted a large hardscape that took up the whole backyard, the wife wanted something smaller surrounded by grass. “We ended up going with a smaller, simple design approach,” explains Micah, “they really liked the clean lines and subtle pattern changes.” Though the patio itself is small, the space contains a wide spectrum of Belgard products and displays what a skilled craftsman can do in a modest space. Between the outdoor kitchen, the fire pit and the gathering space, this patio offers nearly anything you could want for a relaxing time outside. “When I design a patio, I want you to discover aspects of it as you move through the space,” Micah says, describing his process, “for this project I didn’t want you to be able to take the whole thing in at once, so enjoying it becomes a kind of journey of discovery.” He tried to limit what he calls “hallways,” places with no clear entrance or exit and instead designed the space to flow easily from one room to the next.
Even the most accomplished craftsmen run into challenges, and the true test is what you do when you encounter them. “We ran into some difficulties with drainage,” Micah recounts, “because we were using an open grade, water ended up bypassing the drainage we installed on the outside of the patio and ran right into the basement.” Micah saw this challenge as a learning opportunity and pulled up about two feet of pavers against the house to install waterproofing and drainage on the inside of the patio. This proved to be just another step in building up Easton Outdoor’s pedigree as the place to go for quality hardscaping professionals.
When asked if he had ever done the eulogy exercise Micah remembered attending a Contractor Fight course in 2018. “It was at a time when I wasn’t running the business well and was worried about money. When I wrote my own eulogy I realized that making sure my family felt secure, that they never had to want for anything was the most important thing. From there I knew I had to get the business straight for my family.” We couldn’t be happier to have Micah and Easton Outdoors back in the winner’s circle, and it seems that the sky is the limit for them as they continue to expand to march upward, while reaching back to help others climb with them.
Want to be a Belgard Hardscape Hero? Submit your project here or talk to your sales rep. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see more beautiful photos from Hardscape Hero winners.
The following Belgard products were used in this project: